


Hypothermia

by Rainstorm67



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Hallucinations, Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, Lemme know if I need to tag anything else!, Near Death, also how the heck do tags work on mobile lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:33:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25290958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainstorm67/pseuds/Rainstorm67
Summary: Most Sides wouldn't be all that worried if they found themselves in the Imagination.Most Sides aren't Janus.See, the Imagination is closely linked to Creativity, and Roman is more utilized by Thomas. Therefore, Roman is stronger and has more control of the Imagination than Remus.And Roman hated Janus.So when a certain half-snake Side finds himself suddenly in the middle of a forest for reasons unknown, he isn't all that surprised when wind starts howling and dark clouds cover the sky to start dropping fat snowflakes on him. Irritated and confused, but not surprised.
Relationships: Familial DRTLAMP
Comments: 16
Kudos: 176





	Hypothermia

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all, back at it with some Janus angst! I meant to end it really sad, but Remus kicked his way in to fix things, so it's another happy end!  
> I'm sorry it's so similar to my other fic, The Dangers(?) of Acceptance- the ending is very similar. Honestly the theme is also similar... Sorry-
> 
> Hopefully my next fic will be chaptered and more unique! Hope you enjoy anyways :)

It was almost blindingly bright in the Imagination, the sun nearly perfectly overhead, the light reflecting off the thick layer of snow and causing the crystals to sparkle. Janus hated it.

Said Side tugged his capelet tighter around his shoulders, struggling through the knee-deep snow like he had been for _an hour_ now. He couldn’t quite feel his feet or lower legs anymore, his pants below the knees and his socks soaked from the snow. But, he was still shivering, and Janus was _pretty_ sure that he was only in true danger when he stopped shivering and started feeling warm and sleepy. Those were the symptoms of hypothermia, right? 

Janus had been searching for the way out of the Imagination for… he didn’t know how long. But it had started snowing a couple hours ago, gentle and pretty at first, but soon it had developed into a proper snow storm. He’d sheltered inside a fuckin _bush_ to get out of the worst of the wind, only leaving when the weather had taken a chill pill- no pun intended. He didn’t even really remember how he’d ended up in the Imagination, his memories were rather… fuzzy. He thought the only entrances to this place were in Remus’ and Roman’s rooms, but Janus wasn’t going to pretend to be an expert on Thomas’ mind.

All Janus really knew was that if he didn’t find a way out soon, he might just find out once and for all if Side’s could die or not. 

The snake rubbed his gloved hands over his arms under his cape, squinted eyes scanning all around him for any hint at an exit. His eyes were starting to ache from how bright the snow was, and he couldn’t help but sarcastically think to himself that he _really_ needed snow blindness on top of all this shit. It was bad enough he was starting to see more dark clouds gathering on the horizon, perhaps another storm to _really_ freeze him out-

He needed to stop with the puns, before he lost his mind.

Janus stumbled around the seemingly never ending forest for another five minutes, praying to whatever God was there that he wasn’t going in circles, when the first fat flakes started falling again. Janus nearly burst into frustrated tears, digging his gloved fingers into his arms as he stumbled faster, his thoughts getting slower and more… blurry, he supposed. That made sense, right? 

Then the ground disappeared out from under him, and the snake let out a _very_ manly squeak as he fell. He tumbled against snow and gravel, finally stopping on something cold and slippery, icy almost-

Oh.

Janus had enough time to look down at the iced over stream he’d landed on, and take in the slight cracks, before the surface broke with a sharp _snap_ and he was plunged into dark, icy water.

The only plus side was that the stream wasn’t very fast moving, but it was deep, and the shock to his system meant Janus sunk quite a bit before he could snap into action, frantically propelling himself up towards the watery light above his head.

He nearly screamed out the small amount of oxygen he’d managed to gasp into his lungs when his hands hit ice. Frantically, the Side skated his gloved fingertips all over, wide eyes trying to take everything in at once, his body starting to tense again with shivers, the cold biting at his body despite the clothes. 

Janus nearly sobbed when he felt his hand break the surface of the water, scrabbling at the slippery ice to drag himself out of the water. The storm had picked up, the wind biting viciously at his soaked, chilled skin. Janus forced his rapidly numbing limbs to drag himself to the bank, his breath short in his trembling chest, his body tight with his shivering. He thought he could hear his teeth genuinely chattering.

The side couldn’t remember what he was supposed to do about this. Did he take the wet clothes off? Or leave them on? Surely it’d be better to get the wet cloth off his body, but then he’d be more exposed to the storm, wouldn’t that be worse? Oh god, he couldn’t think, his numb fingers managing to undo the clasp of his capelet through the shaking. The fabric fell to the ground with a soft _plap_ , Janus’ shoulders feeling much lighter without the sodden fabric on them. Moving on autopilot, Janus managed to shove his shoes and socks off, his chest aching with his lack of breath, but it _hurt_ to breathe-

The snake slipped his shoes back on, leaving his socks and cape as he pushed himself back up to a shaky standing position. His hat was missing, but it probably wouldn’t help anything, so he didn’t worry about it. What was he doing again, besides nearly drowning?

Oh, right, he’s stuck in the Imagination. Duh. Janus peeled his soaked gloves off and rubbed his wet, chilled hands over his equally wet and chilled face until he felt even a spark of warmth from friction. He smacked his clammy hands against his cheeks a couple times, trying to ward off the exhaustion tugging at his sodden limbs, and started trudging through the slightly-less-deep-but-getting-deeper snow along the stream bank. The wind tugged at his wet clothes and hair, causing little pinpricks of pain to erupt over his exposed skin. He just needed a weak spot, an exit, and he’d be okay. Probably.

Janus’ eyes fluttered as he stumbled along the stream, his hands staying clenched tight against his upper arms, hardly able to feel the pain in his tense fingers or his arms. His teeth weren’t chattering anymore, and he couldn’t hear his pulse rushing in his ears, but his chest was still tight. Had he inhaled water without realizing it? Janus tried to cough, but he could only let out a weak wheeze. He stumbled onward, his thoughts sluggish, his brain starting to whisper how soft the snow looked, maybe it’d be soft enough to lay down in, take a nap?

The snake jerked and blinked rapidly, his wide eyes staring at a point about three feet ahead of him. He… he _swore_ he had just seen a flash of Virgil’s hoodie. But... why would Virgil be in the Imagination? Only Remus and Roman were allowed there, right? Virgil hated the cold as much as all the “others” did, he wouldn’t play in the snow- Janus shook his head, his eyes catching on the ice crystals that had formed on his hair, before a soft, happy laugh floated on the air towards him. The sound wrapped around Janus like a hug, warming his chest up, and he found himself stumbling towards the noise. 

More voices joined the first, and Janus’ tired brain was vaguely able to pick out the different tones. Patton was laughing at something, Logan was being quiet and calm, and Virgil and Roman were playfully arguing about something Janus couldn’t quite decipher. And, was that Remus’ cackle, too? Were they having a snow day? Janus felt his stiff lips pull into a smile at the thought of them all getting along, it was so much nicer when no one was fighting or feeling left out or ignored.

“Where’s Janus?” He heard Roman ask, and Janus’ heart warmed further. “He said he’d be right back!”

“Think he got lost?” Virgil asked, and Janus could almost picture the way he’d bite at his thumbnail as his anxiety spiked, “Should we go look for him?”

“No, I think I see him! There he is! Janus!” Patton called, Janus trying to pick up his pace to get to his family faster. He had to get to them…! 

“J-anus!” Remus called, his voice bright and happy in a way it hadn’t been in years, “Come help me build a snow fort! We’re gonna have a WAR!”

“Janus, _please_ help me dissuade the others of this childish activity” Logan sighed, his voice fondly exasperated.

“Phantom of the Opera, come tell Logan to _shut up snowball wars are not childish-!_ ” Roman yelled, his voice full of playful offense, “And no helping Remus, he doesn’t need the help!”

“Janus!”

“Jan!”

“Jay-Jay!”

Janus stumbled as fast as he could, his blue-ish, frozen hands flying around in front of him, clumsily knocking branches and leaves out of his way. He had to get to his family, they needed him! He had a snow war to help with! He had to see Logan stand to the side and pretend to renounce their childish ways before eventually giving in to teach the rest of them how to build a structurally sound snow fort and how best to make a snowball that wouldn’t fall apart but wouldn’t actually hurt anyone on impact! He had to see Patton dump snow down Virgil’s jacket and run squealing as Virgil chased him with fake anger on his face and laughter in his eyes! He had to judge Roman’s and Remus’ eventual snowman building competition, which would absolutely fall apart into who could create the coolest snow and ice sculpture! He had to…

He had to…

Janus collapsed face first into a snow drift, his breath frozen in his chest, his family’s laughter and joyful tones ringing in his ears.

Maybe… maybe just a nap. They wouldn’t begrudge him a little nap, not when they knew he was an insomniac and hardly got any sleep ever. They wouldn’t do anything too big without him! 

Just… just five minutes… 

Janus, his head full of fluffy clouds like those above him, forced his hands and arms to move, blind to how blue and stiff his fingers were, how not-okay his skin looked. He dug numbly into the snow drift, clumsily shoveling snow out of his way and managing to pack it into a rough cave. The Side drug himself into the little cave, curling up in the small space, and felt his eyes fall shut. 

Warmth enveloped the snake as darkness rushed to greet him.

\--------------------------------------------

  
  


Remus popped up behind his Host’s TV, easily hopping over the device and ignoring the offended and surprised noises from his brother and the others. His face was unusually grim and serious, his eyes locked on Thomas’. His host looked startled, eyes wide and mouth opening and closing with no noise, his train of thought clearly cut off in a huge fiery explosion-

Remus shook his head. No, now’s time to focus.

“We have a problem.” Remus stated bluntly, still only looking at Thomas. He let Roman’s sarcastic remarks, Virgil’s angry hissing, and Logan’s confused queries wash over him, laser focussed on his Host. When he sensed a break in the noise, he spoke again. “Janus isn’t in his room like normal, and something’s pissing the Imagination off.”

“What?” Roman’s question filtered into Remus’ head, the genuine confusion cutting through the worried buzzing in the chaotic Side’s head, “I thought you were doing something-”

“Not me.” Remus answered, short and blunt, his eyes never leaving Thomas’. “The Imagination never gets pissed at me, even when I made that mix of the Kraken and Godzilla and that fucker destroyed acres of forest and 30 villages before I could kill it.”

“I- _what-_ ” Logan spluttered, but Remus ignored him.

“Thomas, summon Janus. Now.”

“I- I’ve never done that before-” Thomas stuttered, looking incredibly uncomfortable. “What if it doesn’t work?”

“Then we’ll deal with it, but we won’t know until you try, now do we?” Remus snapped, his patience wearing thin. “Summon him.”

Thomas glanced around at the others, who had gone mercifully quiet at Remus’ words, and then raised a hand. 

Nothing.

Thomas frowned, trying again, and then, “Janus? Deceit? Can you come up here? Janus?”

Nothing.

Remus cursed and slammed his fist behind him, putting a hole in his Host’ TV. He ignored Patton’s surprised shout and Virgil’s hissing, and locked his own dark, angry eyes with his Host’s wide, nervous ones. “Ten bucks says that slippery fuck wound up in the Imagination somehow, which is incredibly not good. The Imagination only likes me and Roman, as we actually use it and generally take care of it. The only other time someone else was in there was back in High School, and I had taken Virge and Jan in to show off my latest creature. The weather turned biblical levels of fucked in the span of five minutes, and I had to get them out before everything flooded and burned at the same time”

The living room was dead silent, and Remus started shifting from foot to foot, trying not to explode from the excess of energy and nerves pulsing in his chest.

When the silence stretched too long for the chaotic side, Remus finally snapped, “Well!? Quit fucking staring and _help me_!”

“But you just said no one but you and Roman can enter the Imagination without repercussions.” Logan spoke up, adjusting his glasses, “How is anyone but Roman meant to help you?”

“Oh, I dunno, _Logic_ , maybe set up an area to put him when we find him, maybe prepare to help him heal from whatever Hell the Imagination’s putting him through right this very second? First aid, blankets, towels, food, water, whatever! I don’t know! Just _do something!_ ”

Thomas and Patton both winced at Remus’ screech, both still looking a little lost. Remus was about to start knocking heads if they didn’t _get moving right now-_

“Logan, you have Thomas’ scant medical knowledge, you prepare a first aid kit and whatever other medical supplies you can think of. Patton, get a stack of towels and the fluffiest, warmest blankets you can find. Steal Thomas’ heated blanket too. Virge, you raid the kitchen and see if you can find any light foods that’d be easy on the stomach. The Imagination likes to warp time, so while he’s only been gone for maybe an hour or two, it could have been a week or more to him.” Roman spoke, sharp and sure, leaving no room for any argument. And he received none, the other three scattering to do ask asked, leaving Thomas to stand there looking bewildered and wondering how his simple check in video had turned out like this, and Remus to try not to burst into hideous tears as his brother was finally useful. “Remus, you have any idea which area he’s in?”

“I know it’s somewhere between our areas, but I can’t pinpoint him.” Remus huffed, frustrated at how useless he felt. “Think we can sense him better once we’re there?”

“Probably,” Roman huffed and looked to his incredibly lost Host, “Sorry, Thomas. You just stay here, maybe help Virgil in the kitchen, get some drink high in electrolytes and vitamins if you can? If he was thrown in the middle of an endless dessert or something, he’d need rehydrating.”

“I- uh- yeah. Yeah, okay.” Thomas said, taking a second to finally shut off his camera, before hurrying to his kitchen where Virgil was busy rifling through his cabinets.

“Alright, lets go.” Roman said, turning to his twin. “I can’t sense him, I can just vaguely feel something is wrong, so you take us to wherever you sense him best.”

Remus let out a slow breath, trying to cool down his chaotic, impulsive thoughts. He could be crazy and over-the-top once Janus was safe. He nodded, grabbed his twin’s arm, and sunk them straight to the Imagination.

\------

Remus stumbled as he landed on uneven ground, a gasp leaving his mouth as the sudden cold hit his body like a semi truck. He was knee deep in snow, and quickly he snapped his fingers, his usual outfit changing to thermals under waterproof snow gear. He heard another snap and turned his head to see Roman doing the same, and gave a short nod. His eyes swept their surroundings, taking in the leafless trees and bushes around them, looking up to see a grey sky with darker clouds on the horizon. Whether they were heading for them or away, he couldn’t tell. 

“Well fuck,” Remus huffed, scanning their surroundings again, hoping to find any tracks or other clue, “looks like it tried to freeze him out like a stubborn wart. See anything?”

“Just snow,” Roman frowned, slowly turning as he also scanned the pristine surface. “Let’s split up, we can cover more ground that way. I don’t recognize this forest, so this should be… fun.”

Remus snapped himself a pair of sunglasses for the glare, his mouth twisted into a frown. “I think I do. There’s a decent sized stream cutting right through the middle, maybe we should head there and take one side each?”

Roman only answered with a nod and snapped his own glasses onto his face, letting Remus take the lead as they started their trek through the snow.

\---------

Remus shot an arm out to stop Roman from going any further, eying their surroundings before taking a careful step forward. Roman didn’t question him, just quietly watched as Remus carefully tested the ground until he found what he was looking for.

“Drop off here, probably slippery. Don’t fall.” Remus huffed, his cheeks stinging slightly in the wind that had picked up a few minutes ago, feeling a bit winded from fighting through the deep snow. He carefully stepped over the edge he’d found, sliding down the decline and stumbling to a halt at the bottom of the ravine. He heard gravel and snow crunch as Roman descended, Remus’ eyes scanning the snow, praying for any sign of tracks- but the dark clouds had quickly made their way overhead and started dropping more flakes on them about a minute before the wind had picked up. If there was any sign of Janus nearby, they had to move fast to find it, or it’d be lost forever. “I’ll cross, you go left and I’ll head right.”

Roman nodded and turned to the left, before freezing. Remus was already trying to find the edge of the water with his feet and eyes, so he didn’t notice until Roman spoke up.

“Remus? Those look like tracks to you?” Roman asked, pointing a gloved finger down the ravine.

Remus turned to look for himself, and paused. There were odd lines of shadows on the snow, crossing the stream and disappearing up the opposite bank.

Remus didn’t answer, just forced his tired legs to _move_ , hurrying through the now more shin-high snow with Roman hot on his tail, his eyes scanning the shadows. The potential trail disappeared up both sides of the ravine, dread settling in Remus’ chest. God knows how far Janus could have travelled in all this time. Probably not far, considering Remus could hear water running, even though he knew the stream was frozen over.

“Remus-!” Roman called, hurrying over the stream with no thought to his own safety. Remus was about to chastise him, but then Roman held up a horribly familiar, ice-covered caplet and a pair of frozen socks. Remus himself spotted a flash of yellow and made his own way over the (hopefully) iced over stream. He stooped and snatched up the icy gloves, his throat tight.

“He’s here somewhere, probably this side, and probably fell in the stream.” Remus shoved the icy gloves into a pocket, trudging towards the rapidly filling trail and starting to follow it. “Why the fuck would he take clothes off, or try to cross that fuckin stream without knowing it was there-”

“Who knows how long he’d been in here before he fell in? Hypothermia does crazy shit to your brain function.” Roman puffed out, snapping the cape and socks clean and dry before shoving them in his own pockets. 

Remus just shook his head and followed the ragged, uneven trail Janus had left, trying not to imagine him pale and blue, stumbling through the snow, trying to get warm and dry-

Remus yelped as his foot caught on something, stumbling and almost face planting into the snow- wait- His brain processed the pristine snow in front of his nose, then whipped around and started scanning the ground around him, his eyes wide.

“Here, somewhere here, the trail ends-”

“Found him!” Roman shouted, diving into a pile of snow, shoving his hands into what looked like a shitty snow cave. Remus caught a glimpse of black dress shoes, and dove down next his twin to help, his heart in his throat.

“Careful, not too rough, try not to bend his joints too much- oh god- oh fuck he’s _blue Roman-_ ” Remus choked on his own words, wide eyes taking in Janus’ frozen form. Was he even breathing? Was he… was he-

“Remus! Snap out of it!” Roman shouted, smacking his brother on the arm, “You stay here and take his legs, I’ll crawl in there and grab his shoulders. We’ll get him out of this shit, get a better grip, then take him to Thomas’ living room, okay?”

Remus took in a shaky breath and nodded once, shifting to let his brother crawl into the cave. Shaky hands carefully gripped curled up legs, foggy eyes trying to ignore how not-alive Janus looked right now-

“Three, two, one, lift!” Roman huffed, the twins lifting Janus’ frozen form and carefully maneuvering him out onto the trail instead. They both took a second to adjust their grips, locking eyes when they were good, and gave each other a nod.

They sunk out, keeping a firm, but not too tight, grip on the frozen Side. They both felt the Imagination settle as soon as the intrusion was removed, and Remus really wished the Imagination had a physical, humanoid form, so he could kick it’s ass.

\-----------

The twins rose up into a semi-chaotic living room, ignoring the startled shouts and gasps, focussing on getting Janus to the couch. They laid the snake down and backed up, snapping back into their usual outfits. Roman kept back, sinking into a chair and letting out a breath, still a bit winded from the exertion and the cold, but Remus hovered. Remus watched Logan with an eagle eye as the logical side hurried over, setting up his first aid kit and got to work checking for a pulse.

So Remus was the first to notice when Logan’s face turned pale.

“What? What’s wrong? Is it all weak and fast?” Remus demanded, his hands itching to _do something_ -

“I-” Logan cleared his throat, checking Janus’ other wrist. Then his neck. Then Logan dug out a stethoscope and checked his chest. Slowly, Logan pulled the stethoscope out of his ears, “I can’t find a pulse.”

Everything seemed to freeze (pun absolutely not intended). Remus blinked, once, twice, then said, “What?”

“His pulse, I- I can’t find one.” Logan repeated, holding his hand just under Janus’ nose. Before Remus could explode and ask how the _fuck_ that helped with Janus’ not having a pulse, Logan almost went boneless in relief and let his hand drop, “He’s breathing, but barely. So his pulse is just that weak, I guess, or he went into cardiac arrest. Thomas, look up treatments for hypothermia while we start trying to warm him up. He needs more than a warm blanket.”

“Right, yeah-” Thomas jerked into motion, yanking out his phone and settling at his kitchen island, out of the way, to look up how to treat severe hypothermia. He prayed the fact that they were all figments of his imagination would make this process easier, and that they could somehow conjure any fancy equipment they’d need.

Patton bustled forward as Logan moved over to their Host to help filter through the various articles that were sure to pop up. The fatherly figment took one look at the iced over clothes and started stripping the frozen Side, using a couple of towels to help Janus keep his modesty. He heard more than saw someone bundle up the wet, freezing clothes, Patton snapping his fingers and summoning a pair of his own soft, fluffy pajamas. In moments the pale blue Side was dressed again, and Patton was busy gently towelling off his wet hair before starting to gently wrap him in fluffy blankets.

“Wait, hold on,” Thomas called out, eyes on his phone, “Mayo clinic says to do CPR if you’re trained and the person’s breathing is low and shallow, which his is.” 

“See? I told you all that Thomas getting CPR certified was a good idea,” Virgil hissed from the kitchen, anxiously stirring a pot of what smelled like chicken broth.

“Thomas, you keep researching. I’ll perform the CPR, Patton, you and Remus start making warm compresses. Not too hot.” Logan said, his tone sharp as he strode back to the couch. He watched Patton scramble away, tugging Remus behind him, before the logical Side used gentle hands to uncurl Janus and lay him on his back. Taking his own deep breath, Logan crawled onto the couch and swung a leg over, careful not to put any weight on the Side below him. He placed his hands right above Janus’ breastbone, taking another deep breath before starting chest compressions, keeping the proper beat in his head. He had a feeling he didn’t need to do any mouth-to-mouth, that the CPR was more to help his heart beat and push hopefully warmer blood out, get circulation going properly.

“Warm water in a bottle or towels fresh from the dryer are good warm compresses,” Thomas said to no one in particular, saying the new information verbally helping it stick in his head, and therefore helping his Sides understand, “Put them on his neck, chest wall, or groin. Not arms and legs, we could kill him that way.”

“Got it,” Patton spoke for both him and Remus, who still looked rather out of it. The fatherly Side snapped some plastic bottles into existence, turning the sink on to hot, but not too hot, sticking a finger under the water to feel the temp. “Remus, go take the towels and blankets I grabbed and throw 'em in the dryer, okay?”

Remus started a bit, blinking at Patton a few times, before nodding and heading back to the living room. He grabbed the stack of folded towels from the coffee table, not looking at Logan or Janus. He felt a gentle shove to his arm, and looked up to see Roman moving to the pile of blankets and snatch those up. Neither said a word, just headed to Thomas’ laundry room, throwing both piles into the dryer and setting it to Quick Dry.

“Hey, can one of you conjure fancy medical machines? It says for severe hypothermia, it’s best to warm from the inside, which includes stuff like drawing, warming, and reinserting blood, or putting a tube in his nose or a mask over his face and pumping warm air into him. It also mentions catheters, but I don’t think we can do anything like that.” Thomas glanced up from his phone, his eyes sweeping across his Sides, eventually landing on Roman and Remus.

“Warm air, huh?” Roman muttered, rubbing his chin. He glanced at Remus, who was looking calmer but still wasn’t talking. So no help from him, then. “I’ll make something, and we’ll just ignore the rules of reality.”

Thomas nodded his agreement and went back to his original search, trying to find another reputable site to scan. Patton put a cap on the last bottle, wrapping them in dish towels before carrying them to Janus and Logan, who was still doing CPR. Without getting in the way, Patton carefully placed the bottles on the places Thomas had found were safe for hypothermic patients. 

“Web MD says the same thing as Mayo Clinic, but they added that once he’s warmer we should make sure to keep his head and neck wrapped in blankets or towels too. And that putting him in warm water would have been, like, really bad.”

“Good thing we didn’t do that, then,” Virgil muttered, turning the heat of the stove down and putting a lid on the pot of broth he’d doctored til it actually tasted decent, “What does it say about food and drink? I just assumed broth would be fine…”

“Uhhh… Web MD says no caffeine, but Mayo Clinic says something warm, sweet, nonalcoholic, and non caffeinated. Broth should be fine, though.”

“No booze or coffee, got it,” Virgil nodded, starting to fiddle with his jacket sleeves.

“Let one of us know when you need a break, we’ll swap in,” Patton quietly reassured Logan, who didn’t even blink, before retreating to the kitchen island to sit with his Host. “What a day. Think he’ll recover?”

“He should,” Thomas replied, nibbling on his lower lip and he continued to scan and rescan the articles. “He’s still alive, he should be okay. It’ll just take a b-”

Everyone froze as rough, raspy coughs exploded from the couch. There was a dull thump as Logan scrambled off the suddenly conscious Side, catching Patton’s water bottles as Janus jerked and half rolled off the couch, coughing and hacking up a couple mouthfuls of water. He coughed a few more times before flopping back onto his back, his breath ragged and wheezy, but much stronger than before.

Logan quickly put the bottles on the coffee table, adjusting Janus so he was slightly propped up with some throw pillows, before replacing the water bottles and checking his pulse again.

“I found it! I found his pulse!” Logan called to the room as a whole, the air relaxing with relief, “It’s still weak, but it’s there!”

Roman paused in his concentration, looking over to Thomas, “Should I stop trying to make this machine thingy?”

“No, make it anyways. Just because we can hear his breathing and feel a weak pulse doesn’t mean he still isn’t half frozen.” Thomas glanced up at his fanciful Side before looking over to the couch to do his own visual check of Janus. “He’s still pale, and blue around the lips and fingers.”

Roman nodded and got back to work, a frown of concentration twisting his face. The dryer chimed while he was busy, Remus fully snapping out of his funk and hurrying over to pull out the freshly warm blankets and towels. He piled them all into his arms, ignoring the few that fell as he hurried over to the couch to deliver the warm cloth before it could cool off.

Logan easily took some towels and wrapped Janus’ head and neck in them, the Side’s hair still wet from what Logan can only assume was an almost drowning experience, judging by the water he’d coughed up. Once that was done, the two wrapped Janus first in the towels, and then the bigger blankets, making sure not to knock off the hot water bottles. Logan couldn’t tell if the lack of shivering was good or bad.

Roman wheeled over his odd-looking machine, only saying a simple, “Don’t Logic it away, Logan,” before grabbing the attached face mask and slipping it over Janus’ face. Warm oxygen immediately began to push into the snake’s lungs, his chest rising and falling much more evenly and strongly compared to earlier.

“That’s… good job, Roman.” Logan nodded, stepping back to keep out of the way now that they ran out of things to do besides just… wait. Logan hated waiting.

Roman looked a little startled by the praise, his cheeks going a soft pink before he cleared his throat, shrugging and turning towards the kitchen, knowing his brother would watch Janus, “It was nothing.”

Logan rolled his eyes at the brush off, eyeing Janus warily before deciding to settle in the armchair, trying not to let his leg bounce too much. Remus settled on the coffee table right by Janus’ head, his eyes locked on the snake’s pale face and his steady chest movements. Exhaustion tugged at Remus, at everyone really, but Patton was too worked up to relax fully, Virgil never relaxed even halfway, Logan still couldn’t get his leg to stop bouncing, and Roman had started pacing by the laundry room, a place out of the way of the others. 

The living room fell to silence besides Roman’s reality-breaking machine and Thomas occasionally tapping on his phone, still researching all he could to try and help his Side. He didn’t find any other sites he trusted to give accurate knowledge, and had to hope that what they had would be enough.

\--------

Time seemed to drag on, no one willing to break the almost-silence with conversation. Virgil regularly stirred the broth he’d made, keeping it at a simmer to stay warm but not boiling hot. Patton stared off into space, idly fiddling with the sleeves of his cat hood. Thomas stared at his lap, fidgeting with his fingers, twisting them and picking at his nails. Roman paced a path into the carpet, his mouth moving but no sounds coming out. Logan stared at Remus, trying not to drop off into a nap, while Remus kept his eyes on Janus’ unconscious form.

It was Remus who noticed first, of course.

Janus’ eyelids fluttered. Then his hands twitched. Then he let out a soft, raspy groan.

Remus shot to his feet, wide eyes snapping to Thomas and Logan (who, as well as everyone else, were on their feet and staring at the couch with wide eyes), before looking back to Janus.

The snake shifted a bit, a weak cough leaving his no-longer blue lips, and then his eyes fluttered open.

Remus bit back whatever noise wanted to bubble out, starting to vibrate in place as Janus slowly, so slowly, woke up.

Janus sluggishly blinked, staring blankly up at the ceiling before his eyes cleared a bit. His gaze drifted down, catching sight of Virgil and Patton in the kitchen, then Thomas at the island, Roman off to the side, Logan at the chair, and… Remus, nearly hovering by him, looking like he was about to burst with nervous energy.

Janus blinked again, slowly sweeping his gaze across the others again, before he opened his mouth and croaked out a quiet, “What… how…?”

“Me an Ro found you,” Remus whispered, his voice barely above a breath, “You were near frozen in the Imagination.”

Janus’ gaze snapped to Remus, and Remus could see the gears turning in his head, to process what was just said to him.

“O-Oh…” Janus eventually responded, his cheeks pink, “Right… I… r-remember… sort of…” 

“What all do you remember, Janus?” Logan spoke up, voice just as soft as Remus’ and Janus’ own voice.

“I… cold. Hard to walk. Fell… fell down cliff and into a river. Stream. W-whatever.” Janus tried to string together a proper sentence, but his brain felt like putty mixed with molasses.

“Yeah, we gathered that much,” Remus nodded, trying not to shift too much. “How’d you get in?”

Janus looked to Remus, blinking slowly before answering, “I ‘unno. Juss… woke up there.”

“Hey Janus,” Thomas gently interrupted, slowly moving over to his sick Side, “Virge made you some broth to drink, if you think you can handle it?”

Janus seemed to ponder this information before he managed a small nod. He watched with half-lidded, slightly hazy eyes as Thomas disappeared to the kitchen, digging in his cabinets for a mug. His gaze moved to Patton, who moved forward slowly with a gentle smile on his face.

“Hey Janus… mind if I check your hot water bottles? I wanna make sure they’re still warm.”

The Side blinked, yet again, before slowly nodding and trying to ignore the growing tightness in his chest. He dully watched as Patton reached forward and dug out a few plastic bottles wrapped in dish towels, unwrapping the towels to hold just the bare plastic, before carrying them to the kitchen, presumably to dump the cooler water and refill with warmer water. Janus met Virgil’s eyes, the anxious Side holding the contact for maybe a split second before looking away, bringing a hand up to chew on his already bitten down thumbnail. Janus very nicely didn’t say anything, just looked over to Roman, who was just… standing there, seemingly at a loss of what to do, and then to Logan, who was taking notes in a little notebook. 

Remus had settled back on the coffee table, still vibrating with pent up energy, while Patton refilled the water bottles, Thomas poured Janus a warm cup of broth, and Logan moved over to check Janus’ pulse and breathing, taking more notes as he did so. 

Janus just laid there and tried to properly process everything happening, trying to figure out just what happened. He could have sworn he’d heard them all in the snow, but… able to think back on it with a slightly clearer head, something was off about that. It was going too smoothly, only light hearted bicking, when Janus is 100% sure they’re all getting along and working smoothly right now because he had almost died. Did that make what he heard a hallucination, then? Most likely, but Janus still didn’t like thinking about that. In his seemingly last moments his brain let him believe they were all a loving, functional family with no grudges or hard feelings between anyone. 

How strange.

Janus was sure the others babied him for a good few hours, helping him hold his mug and sip at it until he had thawed enough and gained enough strength to hold his own mug. His mask stayed on unless he was drinking, until he had finished his first cup of broth and Logan had taken his temperature, declaring him a high enough temp to not need the weird humid, hot air and uncomfy face mask. Janus was forced to drink another full cup of broth before his temperature was rechecked, Logan sounding pleased as he reported Janus' temp as a still cool 95.3° F, but not nearly as dangerous as he had been.

Janus fully expected to be left alone now that he was out of danger, told to leave and go to his room or whatever, but no one left. In fact, the next thing Janus knew, everyone was crowded on the couch with a movie playing on Thomas' laptop since the TV was broken. He had Remus wrapped around one side, and, strangely, Patton wrapped around his other side. Roman, Virgil, Logan, and Thomas were all piled on either side, Janus in the middle and way warmer than he's used to being.

The snake-like Side decided that he wasn't going to question the probably fragile truce and just relaxed back into fluffy blankets and squishy cushions, carefully wriggling two of his hands to hold onto Remus and Patton, two others holding the blanket close. He let the sounds of the Disney movie (Moana again? Roman must have rigged the vote, if they voted at all) wash over him, a small, tentative smile pulling at his mouth.

He could get used to this.


End file.
